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Company
History
Leanin’
Tree Inc. was founded in 1949 on a handshake between Ed
Trumble, a sales representative for Western Livestock
magazine, and Robert Lorenz, an artist at Colorado State
University.
Robert
dreamed of cowboying and painting the West and Ed claimed he’d
“always wanted to be a cowboy but was born 100 years too late
and 1,000 miles too East.” The duo decided to
paint Western art on Christmas cards and sell them through
direct mail. The
first season, they received more orders than they could fill
and had to send money back. The following year,
the company, then known as the Lazy R L Ranch, reached $5,000
in sales.
After Lorenz
died unexpectedly in 1965, Trumble opened the doors of The
Leanin’ Tree Publishing Company in Boulder, Colo. With a trademark
symbolic of Christmas in Colorado and outdoor America, the
company’s current headquarters has a Colorado Spruce
faithfully leaning towards the east.
In November
1998, Ed Trumble was recognized by the National Cowboy Hall of
Fame and Western Heritage Center with the Chester A. Reynolds
Award, which recognizes individuals whose lives epitomize the
traditional western values of honesty, integrity and
self-sufficiency.
Leanin’ Tree Today: Over 50 Years
of Service
Proud to celebrate its
50th Anniversary in 1999, Leanin’ Tree is America’s
leading regional and special interest, fine art greeting card
company. With
more than 20 million cards published annually, the company
offers retailers over a dozen unique everyday product lines,
including greeting cards of all shapes, sizes, price points,
and themes, as well as boxed notes, posters, magnets, magnetic
list pads, stationery and gift mugs. In addition to the
everyday business, the company maintains a successful
Christmas business with boxed and single cards, and Christmas
stationery. Under
the Celebration Greetings name, Leanin’ Tree also offers
everyday and Christmas products with inspirational verse and
scripture.
Leanin’ Tree has broadened
its card selection in recent years with the addition of
several contemporary lines highlighting popular artists and
themes. New card
lines include Debbie Mumm®, Roy Rogers, Valerie Tabor Smith,
Victoria Lane™ and Enchanted Universe™. New cards also
feature a creative mix of unique sizes, shapes and colorfully
decorated envelopes.
Although Leanin’ Tree
originated as a Western Christmas card company, the company
also offers product lines that include many other special
interest and regional themes to accommodate the wide-ranging
tastes and interests of people from around the country. Themes include
environmental and scenic landscapes, horses, Southwest and
Native American art, marine life and coastal art, nostalgic
and Victorian themes, floral and gardening, humorous
characters, and wildlife.
Museum
When the company first began,
Ed often chose to purchase the actual piece of art to own the
reproduction rights. Over the years his love for fine Western art grew into
a 130-piece private collection and a 270-piece museum – the
Leanin’ Tree Museum of Western Art. Located at the
company’s headquarters, the nationally acclaimed museum hosts
more than 40,000 visitors annually.
During the
last 50 years, Leanin’ Tree has published the works of almost
1,500 artists and prides itself on the relationships developed
over the years with each artist. The company does not have a
single artist on staff, but instead purchases reproduction
rights from independent artists across the United States. That practice ensures
the company acquires the best artwork in a particular region,
style or special interest category. Cards often feature
original works of art created just for Leanin’ Tree. Currently, there are
even works of some past artists’ children being
published.
Environmental Program
As a leader in the publication of environmental, outdoor
scenic and wildlife art, Leanin’ Tree has long had a sincere
interest in protecting the environment and restoring natural
resources. All
its cards and envelopes are printed on recycled
paper, as part of its commitment to the environment.
The company also supports a public service tree-planting
program which plants two trees for every one it uses in
promotional materials.
Additionally, for
years Leanin’ Tree has recycled printing scrap and office
paper. In just
one year, it recycled 23,000 pounds of mixed office paper that
saved:
- 195 trees
- 80,500 gallons of water
- 34.5 cubic yards of landfill
- 47,150 kilowatts of energy, and
- 690 pounds of air pollutants.
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